For the rest of the afternoon, I had to try to finish the intense conversation I was having with Hilda, I tried to change the subject but failed miserably, she really wanted me to admit that the path she chose was good and safe. Innovative was her favorite word and she wasn't exactly wrong, the part she explained to me of the approach shows that the frozen heart master really is very innovative and amazing, but I still think it's a bit extreme and it can go very wrong.
I only managed to divert her focus when I asked what the name of her spear would be, Hilda really had a hard time choosing a name for her future spear. Her list of names was huge, as it would be her weapon for the rest of her life, she has to have an imposing name that befits her legendary spear statue, Hilda has full confidence that she will surpass her grandmother's level and become one. silver core warrior or until you reach a higher level.
She really looks beautiful when she smiles with happiness as she says those words, that's her real goal. I envy her a little for that, I don't have a goal that stimulates my willpower and ambition so much.
Apart from the various information about how her spear will be made I discovered some useful information while Hilda was talking about the frozen heart master. He has a very strong opinion about the weaponry the elves have, according to Hilda he said they are a pathetic and wrong way to create aura weaponry.
The aura weapons wielded by the elves cannot evolve or strengthen even a little, this is their biggest flaw, the old aura weapons can end up driving a warrior crazy and causing him to cause many deaths, but he could strengthen himself with the accretion of higher materials and being fed with aura constantly.
But elven weapons can't do that, if they are remodeled or have materials added to your cup the weapon's aura will be hurt, the bigger the change the more damage the weapon's aura will have, and as it is not a living being he has no idea how this aura could be healed.
So, the elves will have to abandon this aura equipment when its power reaches the peak of the green core, because it would be very dangerous to carry equipment that can be destroyed and do internal damage to your core in mine from a battle, but when abandoning the weapons of aura their core should end up being harmed anyway and even with enough preparation and resources ready to treat this wound, they should have to spend a few years without being able to try to advance their core.
After hearing this I realized that this aura weaponry really sucks, they are expensive to make and even more expensive to get rid of. I even feel a little sorry for Caliban he seems like a nice guy and he's going to suffer a lot because of his family's decision, because I doubt that a guy as focused and calm as he would have chosen to use that shield if he knew he could be the one. cause he can never reach the orange core.
Knowing this flaw in the elves' aura weaponry only makes me more worried about Hilda, I wonder what bad affects her spear might have on her if something goes wrong. If it breaks before it becomes a truly living spear, can it be repaired? How will Hilda's core be injured if that happens?
But I'm not going to ask her that because it would only piss her off, she basically wants me to be happy for her and I doubt I can change her decision so I can only support her with nothing else I can do.
A few days after my tense conversation with Hilda, I finally got a message from Captain Raven saying my debut fight was scheduled. Before dark I left the institute to go to the arena, this time I am carrying all my weapons and to my surprise I have an escort, teacher Balder appeared at the gate as I was leaving and got into the carriage that I had requested from the institute.
Normally students cannot apply for an institute carriage and I would not normally use it, but as I am the principal's student, I have some privileges and today would be a good day to avoid walking the streets alone. But the carriage has only proved very useful since teacher Balder is going with me, it would be a little weird for him to walk behind me in the dark city streets at night.
It's not that there's a calm atmosphere inside the carriage, I don't know why but Teacher Balder is still acting differently with me, he was much friendlier before I became the principal's apprentice and saw him at the restaurant with Calen.
"So, the teacher is interested in the fights?"
"No, I'm going because you're a magnet for trouble and the headmistress will blame me if something bad happens to you."
Cool, he's in a really good mood.
"Okay, any news from the mistress?"
"Unfortunately, not, why did you decide to participate in the fights? You shouldn't be focusing on training."
"I wanted to put my skills into practice with my elements, I thought this would be a good way and I've already made some gains in my practice preparing for today's fight."
"Don't let your guard down just because the cultists are trapped and outnumbered, many of them train in arts that can injure your body even in an unarmed fight. Most of their moves tend to be cruel or violent in nature, I doubt your first fight will be with a very strong one, month if he has an aggressive element, he could end up hurting you a lot during the fight."
"I know, but at my level only three cultists with a fire element and a lightning element, don't call her a death element or any other unusual element."
The awkward silence continued until we reached the arena where I basically jumped out of the carriage and went looking for Captain Raven. It didn't take long to find her around one of the arenas that by the way was being used by two mages.
Captain Raven had commented that mages were participating in this arena too, but I didn't think her fight would be like this, two mages in an oval arena and in front of them there were two posts? Should that be their target to prevent one from hurting the other right?
The impressive thing about this combat and the amount of fire is hitting, the two mages are fire and both are controlling the flames to hit the other. It's cute, but pretty bland and like two kids hitting each other.
Not a ribbon or attempt to attack from a different angle, and literally two fire nines are hitting each other trying to push the other back. I knew they can't use magic and are restricted to using only their elemental control to manipulate the flames that are in the bonfires on my stage, but by the way the bonfires are taken away after the combat is over?
Do they bring basins of water and dirt to the arena as well? I doubt it has anything to help wind elemental mages as there's a lot of air around here, and for any other element it must be quite difficult to bring an example of their element for them to manipulate on stage.
This is very poorly done, but I doubt I could think of a better way out. I approached Captain Raven
"Is the fight interesting?"
"Not at all, and like seeing two kids hitting each other or trying to avoid hitting each other. They should test the mages before sending them to the arena, if they can't even manipulate their element to attack in a less direct way they should be stopped. It's very embarrassing to see that."
"So why are you seeing this?"
"Because your fight comes after that fight, your idiot, your opponent and that mummy with shackles chained to the ground near the arena, don't underestimate him for his looks he may look like a malnourished mummy but that and because of the arts he cultivated his body and very tough because of that and it also makes it difficult to leave internal wounds in your body."
"How cool, is his attack strong as your defense?"
"Not much, but getting hit by a fist as hard as metal can't be pleasant. Want more information about him."
"No, okay, but should I end the fight quickly or make it last?"
"How confident! Depends on how much money you want to make and in what way, making the fight last will make your next fight a better opportunity to bet on your victory, but finishing it fast will give you an arena bonus for knocking out the cultist in a humiliating way, but the next fight will be against a more complicated opponent. The arena doesn't want the fights to be too easy for the contestants or those fights would look too rigged."
"What a difficult decision."
While the mages were beating, I focused on my opponent, he is a mid-stage gray core warrior who has the earth element within his core and grafted onto his flesh and bones. But unlike the other opponent I had who practiced this kind of art, this pale mummy seriously practices this art, so his body must be pretty tricky to pierce.
Guess I'll have to use my elemental energy seriously from the first hit, if I knock him out, I get a bonus, but if he gets up, I bet he must be disoriented.
I doubt this fight will be easy, the mummy still has a determined look on his pale face. He must be holding on to his anger to keep his spirit alive.